Feelings
by Mtwapa
Summary: A HoratioYelina story set during season 3. A storm leads Yelina to Horatio's door....keep reading to find out what happens


AUTHOR'S NOTE: Apologies for the various grammatical errors but the English language has never been my strong point. Would love to get some feedback from readers.

DISCLAIMER: this is just a past-time! All characters belong to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer.

Yelina Salas and Ray Jr. were driving back from Yelina's mother's place where Ray had spent his last 2 weeks of the summer vacation with the rest of his Salas cousins. It's about 11.30 in the morning and Yelina and Ray Jr. had made an early start in order to get back to Miami by lunchtime.

"…And then remember how Fabio pinned the tail on the donkey's nose!" exclaimed an excited Ray Jr. as he reached the climax of his story.

Yelina glanced over at her son and smiled fondly, thinking how much he had grown over the 2 years since his father's death. Yelina is caught off guard and jumps slightly as a sudden downpour of rain begins thundering on to the windscreen. She quickly switches on the wipers and then mentally curses for forgetting to check the weather in Miami before starting the ride home. She turns the radio on and hears that the storm has been expected and will probably rage for the whole day and but should subside in the early hours of the next day.

After listening to the weather broadcast Yelina tries to mentally plan the fastest route home but it's hopeless because the rain is lashing down so hard that it's difficult to see. Yelina stops at the corner of a street and squints hard through the windshield trying to read the name of the street. She finally makes out where she is and is confident on getting home when her car engine dies. She tries the ignition several times but the engine refuses to catch. Frustrated she lets out a curse under her breath, "Dio! Why didn't I take the car to the garage when it was due!"

"What's wrong mom?" asks Ray Jr.

"Well, I'm not…I'm not too sure. I think the battery must have died. I delayed servicing the car because I was coming to nana's. We're still quite a distance from home. I better call the tow company to come get us." Yelina flipped open her cell only to find poor reception due to the storm. She frowns as she holds the cell phone up at different angles to try and improve the reception but she has no luck. "Ok Ray, it seems we have a problem, the storm has weakened the reception on my phone so no tow and probably no cab. Looks like we're going to have to wait the storm out in the car at least until a cab comes along. It should be alright, nana packed some sandwiches and Doritos. I have them in the back." Yelina arches her back slightly as her arm comes around the back groping amongst all the stuff in the backseat and finally finds the bag with the food.

Ray Jr. looked outside the window, thinking for a while and offers a suggestion, "Well actually mom, could we go to uncle Horatio's? It's only about 3 blocks away and we could run. It sure beats sitting in the car till tomorrow morning and besides I haven't seen Uncle Horatio the whole summer."

Yelina squinted further out the window and took in the street name and looked at Ray in surprise amazed at how quick he was to notice that they were indeed close to Horatio's. Yelina never usually drove this way but… but what? Her mind asked. She had forced all thoughts of Horatio out of her mind and perhaps they had been moved to her sub-conscious. She sighed knowing her son did have a point. In her heart of hearts she wanted to see Horatio too but after recent events she had been avoiding Horatio and to show up so unexpectedly at his doorstep would be strange. Besides she couldn't be sure if he was at home or at the lab. She looked over at Ray Jr. who had put on his puppy dog expression. Yelina couldn't resist that expression of his and he knew it. Yelina sighed once again, "Hmm, you know that looks will get you anything don't you mister! Ok we'll go to your Uncle's but I'm not sure if he'll be there or if he's at work."

"Thanks mom, you're the best!" cried an ecstatic Ray Jr.

"Just let me grab some stuff to take." She replied.

Yelina climbed into the back and put some clothes in the knapsack. She moved back into the front and removed the key from the ignition and picked up her purse looked at Ray Jr. and said "Ok, Ray, all set? Let's go then."

They opened their doors and stepped out into the pouring rain. Yelina locked the car and ran over to Ray's side and put her jacket over his head. She held his hand and they both started to run through the rain. Halfway to Horatio's and after many jacket-dropping incidents, Ray Jr. started to slow down. The jacket had proved to be ineffectual. The rain had drenched his clothes, which were now weighing him down making it difficult for him to run. The rain began to pelt down harder and harder, almost like shards of glass were being hurled at her. Yelina gasped slightly as she felt the tingling pain of the rain hitting her exposed arms and legs. Imagining the effect the rain was having on her son; Yelina picked the 9-year-old up and ran with him the rest of the way to Horatio's. She silently cursed herself for giving in to Ray Jr. and her weakness of wanting to see Horatio.

When they finally got to Horatio's street, Yelina noted with a sigh of happiness that Horatio's car was sitting in the driveway. She sprinted the last few yards to his door and started knocking. After a couple of minutes, Horatio still hadn't answered the door. Ray Jr. began to shift uncomfortably in her arms trying to lay his head on her shoulder. She shifted the boy impatiently in her arms to a more comfortable position. Guessing that the rain was perhaps drowning out the knocking she began to hammer her fist harder on the door. And then the most curious feeling overtook her; it felt like her tummy had grown a million worms that were squirming around and morphing into butterflies that were fluttering very hard around her abdominal area. She took a deep gulp of air and shook herself mentally, what was wrong with her? How could she possibly be nervous? This was Horatio. Horatio, her brother-in-law! Who had always been such a good friend, and had been on the way to becoming more than a friend until… until _you_ started avoiding him, a small voice at the back of her mind said.

Horatio was sitting in his basement very engrossed in cleaning his gun and had just come to the end of his task when he thought he heard the faint noise of banging on a door. Thinking it was something to do with the lab, he quickly reassembled his gun and put it in his holster, which he took upstairs with him and placed it in his desk drawer that also held his badge. Hearing the banging becoming more insistent, he looked at the neat pile of papers in his outbox and sighed gently, knowing the lab couldn't leave him alone even on his day off and that for someone to come to his home during the storm would indicate a pretty urgent matter.

Yelina was just about to give up her assault on Horatio's door and go around to his neighbour's to ask if she could use their phone when she heard a voice inside yell, _"Just a minute I'll be right with you." _Her mind was still battling back and forth over her and Horatio when Horatio opened the door. There was a moment of silence as his heart flew to his mouth and his blue eyes widened with disbelief at seeing a very soaked and somewhat bewildered Yelina Salas Caine on his doorstep carrying his equally soaked nephew. His blue eyes locked and registered with her hazel eyes for a moment that seemed to last eternity. Yelina was unable to speak as the butterflies began to fly faster and faster and her pulse began racing, she just couldn't tear her eyes away from Horatio. It would be quite paradoxical to say that time stood still, absolutely still just for them, just for a second, for one endless second…

Horatio remained speechless, still unable to process the fact that his sister-in-law was here, _at his home_. They were standing less than two feet apart, each trying to peep through the window into the other's soul. They could both feel the charged air of the storm around them intensify further as the silence remained unbroken. Horatio's eyes flashed once more before he put on his inscrutable mask and sealed his eyes off from close scrutiny. Ray Jr. began to feel the awkwardness and asked in a small voice,

"Uncle Horatio, are you angry with us? Please don't be angry I begged mom to come here."

Horatio found his voice, and gave a small laugh that eased the tension in the air, "Hi, buddy, no, no not at all! This is a very pleasant surprise. Do come in."

Yelina finally found her voice, "Horatio, I'm so sorry, but my car broke down about 3 blocks away, and Ray really wanted to see you." She didn't add that she really wanted to see him as well. Her heart was still racing she wondered how it was possible for this man to do this to her with just one look in just one moment?

"I'm sorry Yelina, I was just really surprised. Thanks for listening to Ray Junior. It's good to see the both of you. It's been a while I know. Oh, and sorry for taking ages to open the door, I umm…ummm…got a bit caught up with what I was doing.I wish you had called me. I would have come picked you guys up, anything for family." He stared down into her eyes again as he said this. Yelina knew the duality of his words. He was being genuine as well as trying to gauge what her feelings were right now.

Yelina averted her eyes, knowing he could see through her so easily and grinned, "Well my cell was out. We were just driving back from my mother's and well I forgot to check the weather."

Ray Jr. was just about to start telling his Uncle all about his stay with his grandmother. When Horatio noticed both Yelina and Ray Jr. were shaking with the cold with goosebumps rising everywhere. Mentally kicking himself for being caught so off-guard and not noticing the small details. He crouched down and said, "Hang on Ray, you're freezing! Let me just get you guys some towels, and then when you're dry you can tell me about all your adventures at your nana's." He winked at Yelina and walked off towards the linen cupboard.

Yelina smiled at him and watched as he walked away and couldn't help but take note of every detail of him. His hair was ever so slightly damp from the shower, his blue polo complemented his eyes perfectly and his freckles seemed frecklier than ever; a reminder of the boy he had been. He did look quite boyish today: barefoot and in his casual attire. Casual attire; a pair of khaki shorts and a blue polo t-shirt, definitely not something you'd normally see Horatio in. But then again, you didn't normally see the Lieutenant at home. Her thoughts continued to linger on him as she took in the small details; the scent he left in the air that sent her senses heady with delight and made her knees tremble, the lines on his face had seemed less furrowedand his eyes held tiredness rather than the alertness she was used to seeing in them. The realisation that today was probably his day off dawned on her as she saw him walk back towards them with 2 fluffy towels.

"Gosh Horatio, today was probably your day off. You look tired. I'm really sorry for suddenly showing up." she saidas she took the towels from him and bent down to towel-off Ray Jr. who had begun sneezing some moments earlier.

Horatio unsure of what to do as Yelina bent down to Ray Jr., began fiddling with his hands and replied "Um…Yelina, it really doesn't matter, really it's ok. Besides I have the weekend off, not just today. Well I just brought all the paperwork home so that I wouldn't have to go in this weekend unless a new case comes up." After watching them for a few moments, he says "Maybe you should get him in the shower, he looks really soaked. And I'm sure Ray Junior. doesn't want to miss his first day of school, right buddy?"

Ray unable to speak because of his chattering teeth nodded vigorously in response as his mother wrapped the towel around him and picked him up.

"Well I was just going to ask you that. I brought a change of clothes." She responds moving to pick the knapsack up, but Horatio beats her to it and picks it up. She smiles her thanks and heads towards the guest bathroom.

Ray Jr. looks over his mother's shoulder at Horatio and starts pulling funny faces. Horatio responds and rolls his eyes around and around and until he completely loses his focus and stumbles slightly much to the delight of a giggling Ray Jr.

"Hey buddy, how about we have a shower upstairs?" says Horatio.

Yelina turns around quickly, "Horatio, the guest bathroom will be fine, really." She stops in her tracks as she survey's his guest bathroom, "Redecorating?" Yelina asks, eyebrow raised.

Horatio, struggling to regain his focus after all that eye rolling replies, "Um, not intentionally. I had a bad leak about 4 days ago and didn't realise till the water spread to the study. I called the plumbing company and they said that they'd have to knock down the whole thing and change the internal pipes. So they haven't quite finished yet."

She turns around and follows Horatio upstairs through his bedroom and into the ensuite bathroom. He places the knapsack on the counter as Yelina turns on the taps and begins to undress Ray Jr.

"Um…I'm guessing you guys haven't eaten anything since this morning and you guys must have left pretty early to get here by now so I'm um, I'm going to go make lunch. Anything in particular you guys want?"

Both mother and son turned around simultaneously to look at him and their completeness took his breath away which as a result he hardly hears their answer that anything will be fine.

He turns to leave when he realises he's still clutching Yelina's towel, "Yelina, uh, um, don't forget your towel, you're pretty wet too." He says as he hands it to her.

"Thanks Horatio."

Their hands brush slightly sending little shockwaves up their arms and each wonders if the other felt it. Horatio turns around and walks out of the bathroom.

As Horatio leaves the bathroom, Yelina gives herself a little shake, reflects on their slight contact and thinks ruefully that this is what happens when you shut yourself off from a person for so long. She turns her attention to Ray Jr. and notices that his face has turned a slight shade of pink and that his arms and legs are red in places that the pounding rain got the best of him. After giving him his bath, she dresses him in a fresh set of clothes from the knapsack, and gives her arms and legs a quick wipe with the towel before she heads downstairs with Ray Jr.

Horatio went downstairs and first mopped up the big puddle near the door and then glanced into his refrigerator, quickly deciding what to make for lunch. He puts his apron on and begins chopping up the ingredients and putting things on the fire. His thoughts begin to drift as he starts cooking. He feels like Peter Pan just discovering Neverland, he feels elated, like he could truly fly. His whole being is happy knowing that today he could try and start the healing process and get involved with his family again just like the old times. His mind is awhirl, he feels utterly besotted knowing Yelina is in such close proximity to him. He mulls over the last time he saw her and that was when she was still seeing Rick. He knew she had broken up with him but he didn't know why but he did know that she had been avoiding him since then. To know he was being avoided deeply hurt Horatio, he still wanted to be the friend to her that he had been before Stetler came along. By God how he had missed Yelina's presence in his life! He had kept a discreet eye on her, but never came close enough for her to notice his background appearances. He was hurting but he understood. He felt she needed time to sort out whatever turmoil was going on inside her. Time seems to have played him a fool over and over again especially when it came to his family. He wipes his mind clean, as he hears them coming down the stairs. He turns to face them with a grin, determined to make everything right today.

An impatient Ray Jr. runs up to Horatio who picks him up and throws him in the air and then sets him on the counter. Yelina comes in air and sniffs the air appreciatively and says, "Something smells delicious." Horatio grins back at her and notices that she looks a bit tired.

He shifts his feet, refusing to make eye contact with her as he says "Yelina would you…uh would you um like to freshen up or take a shower too because I'm guessing you carried Ray some of the way and he's not as light as he used to be huh? Besides you're still soaking."

Yelina suddenly feels the butterflies once again and feels a blush rise at her neck as she became conscious of her appearance. She knew Horatio was right. She was still quite wet, her soggy clothes perhaps clung a bit too closely to her body. She blushes some more at this thought as Horatio's considerations dart through her mind. "Think I'll take that piece of advice. Could I um, could I um..." come on woman she mentally yells at herself, "Could I borrow a t-shirt please?" the words tumble out quickly as the blush deepens.

"No worries. I'll go lay it out on the bed for you. Just keep an eye on Ray Jr. for me. I'll be right back." He walks out the kitchen and dashes upstairs, anxious to please knowing that she could only be his for perhaps just these few hours.

Yelina sighs softly to herself moving over to Ray Jr. Her stomach rumbles as the spicy aroma of Horatio's cooking teases her senses. She waits for Horatio to come back down. He comes back into the kitchen and he gives her the thumbs up that everything's good. She smiles and walks out hearing Uncle and Nephew strike up an easy conversation about the summer. She smacks her head and turns around and heads back to the kitchen,

"Horatio, is it ok if I use the phone to call my mother? Just to let her know we've arrived safely."

"Sure, you can use the phone upstairs if you like, because Ray Jr. and I might get a bit noisy, right buddy?"

"Yep Uncle Horatio"

"Ok then, thanks again". Yelina goes upstairs and dials her mother's to tell her that they're not home but at Horatio's because of the storm. Content that her mother wasn't worrying about them, Yelina went to the bathroom to be alone with the steam and her thoughts.

She turns on the taps adjusting the temperature, peels her clothes off and steps into the shower and closes the shower door. The hot water pelts her body as she gently measures the soreness in her arms and legs. She smiles thinking how motherhood can be a great fitness routine. She leans against the wall letting the water and pressure soothe her. She glances at Horatio's shower gel but then decides on using the soap in the soap dish instead. Her mind slowly drifts back to Horatio. Thinking how confusing it all is. On the one hand she was furious and hurting and on the other she couldn't hide her feelings for him from herself. Although Rick was out of her life Horatio was still keeping his distance. He occasionally took Ray Jr. on a fishing trip but never stayed long after. After learning about Madison Yelina had tried to shut him out. She knew she couldn't be selfish with Ray Jr. especially with a child's life in the balance. The weekends Horatio took Ray Jr. fishing, Yelina would sit around the house and reflect. She had been outraged at Horatio but later angrier with herself for getting carried away and jumping to conclusions. She had sought distractions; Rick and her job had provided her with that. Her relationship with Rick was to spite Horatio and a part of her knew that it was childish but she wanted to hurt him the way he had hurt her by keeping Madison a secret. She also realised that telling her about Madison had been a no-win situation irrelevant if of when she found out.

The grand result of it all was not hurting Horatio as much as she hurt herself. She had asked the Chief to reassign her cases so that she wouldn't have to see Horatio on any of the cases that she worked on. She tried to figure things out, but just like Ray's death it was too complicated and she didn't want to go there. She realised that her feelings for Horatio still hadn't changed, they were still complicated but she wanted to overstep those boundaries that he claimed he had gotten so used to.

She finished her shower and wrapped the towel around herself and stared at the vague reflection of herself in the steamed up mirror. She imagined Horatio trailing kisses down the back of her neck, his cool lips against her hot skin. She flushed crimson; let's not get ahead of ourselves Yelina, she mentally scolded, you don't even know if he wants your friendship after your actions. And then it came to her in a flash she had missed having Horatio in her life and that she avoided him because after Rick… it was knowing, knowing that Horatio may never be hers that made her heart shatter again and again. Her love for him is what had made her avoid him. She didn't want her heart aching more than it already was. She had heard all types of rumours of Horatio being romantically involved with someone from the state attorney's office but she couldn't bear the pain she felt when she thought about him with another woman. Shutting herself away from Horatio hadn't seemed to have any positive effects but made her realise all the more that she needed him. Whenever she wasn't at work, all she thought about was Horatio, where he was? Was he all right? What was he wearing? Who else he gave that special smile to? Thinking all this while being with Rick was hard and they had finally broken up because there was no future to their relationship. Yelina was still caught up in Horatio and she knew she never wanted to be free of him. She needed him just as she was sure he needed her. But had she been her own worst enemy and pushed him too far away this time?

She took in the masculinity and neatness of the bathroom. She could feel the intensity of his persona all around. Oh it was so easy to imagine him there with her! She closed her eyes, physically trying to block out the mental image of him with her. Her mind confused about what she really wanted.

She pulled on the black leggings and slipped on the yellow t-shirt that Horatio had put on the bed and ran the towel through her wet curls several times before going downstairs.

Yelina came downstairs to see Horatio and Ray Jr. gasping for breath and clutching their sides after a laughing fit. Horatio suddenly did look like a boy, only a red-headed version of her son. Uncle and nephew were in stitches over salad dressing. Yelina left them to recover in one corner of the kitchen as she set the table. Hearing some more giggling break out she rolled her eyes, she had long given up trying to understand the humour of the Caine men.

Horatio eventually regained his breath. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so hard, and thought the last time was probably with Ray Jr. The boy brought out a quality in his Uncle not seen often by anyone. He looked over at Ray Jr. who broke out into a wide toothy grin and started giggling, while Horatio imitated the salad dressing accident. Horatio couldn't help but join in. He didn't even notice Yelina (who had perched herself on the counter at the opposite end of the kitchen) who was watching them with an amused and slightly exasperated expression. Horatio opened his eyes and wiped them gently and then saw Yelina in his t-shirt. In his t-shirt! She looked divine in such simple attire - her leggings accentuated her shapely legs and his t-shirt hung perfectly on her frame bringing out the hazel in her eyes. Well that's why you purposely picked yellow remember? A small voice in his head reminded him. He gathered his wits and spooned the food out onto serving dishes while Yelina helped Ray wash his hands.

"Yelina would you like some wine? I just bought this case of rosé and it's sweet but has a distinctive edge. It would go really well with the tagliatelle."

Yelina thought it over and decided to throw caution to the winds. If all that came of today was rejection at least the alcohol would numb the aching pain her heart would feel. "Sure, sounds interesting. I'd love to try it." She smiled as she saw his face light up with her affirmative.

"Well, just give me a second to open it then. Ray, would you like lemonade or Cola?"

"Is it the lemonade that you make Uncle Horatio or did you buy it?"

"It's the one I make." Replied Horatio, seeing Ray Jr. nod he took out the wine and the pitcher of lemonade from the refrigerator.

They finally sat down to eat after Ray Jr. said a short grace.

Yelina loved it after the first mouthful and had to compliment Horatio on his culinary skills. "Horatio I knew you could cook, but Ray Jr, never told me you cooked so well. I mean your cooking has improved loads since…well… since the last time when we ended up ordering pizza. This is perfect!" said Yelina smiling as she sipped the wine, "And the wine is amazing! It's not too fruity, it's just right. I may just end up taking some lessons Horatio."

"Well I never boasted about Uncle Horatio's cooking because you've never seen Uncle Horatio with a camp stove." replied Ray Jr. tucking into his meal

"Ah, the young man does have a point there." chuckled Horatio, "I never manage to do anything right with the camp stove. Everything normally ends up burnt! But it's a good thing we take lots of spare food on those fishing trips, right partner?"

"Oh definitely a good thing, otherwise we'd just starve for 3 whole days." Said Ray Jr.

"Thanks for the compliment Yelina, I've tried spending more time with cooking when I get back from the office. I find it quite relaxing sometimes and experimenting with food is definitely something I look forward to doing when I get home. It's kind of like a new chemistry set, very similar, finding the right combinations and things like that."

The meal went brilliantly. Conversation was easy and ranged a wide number of topics. Horatio was pleased, Yelina seemed more open and at ease in his presence than she had been for a long time. After some very convincing arguments on Ray Jr.'s and Horatio's parts and after several protestations on Yelina's part that Horatio was normally quite busy at work and needed his day off to recuperate from the double and triple shifts that he normally pulled during the week, Yelina agreed to let Ray Jr. spend more time with Horatio other than the sudden fishing trip. They laughed and jested and enjoyed each other's company as good friends do.

"May I go now? I've finished." Ray Jr. asked.

"Sure Ray, leave your plate, I'll get it later." Replied Horatio

"Thanks for lunch Uncle Horatio, it was great."

"You're welcome buddy." Horatio turned to see Ray walking towards his study, "Oh and Ray they're in the lower cabinet and on the right hand shelf." Horatio called as he turned back to Yelina.

"Thanks."

"What was that about?" inquired Yelina

"Oh some of his action figures and his Tyco R/C that I think he hypnotised me into buying some time ago with that expression of his, yup that expression. I don't even remember buying them after we got back from the mall." Yelina raised her eyebrows as Horatio took a sip of his wine and continued "But oh well, it was fun being duped by Ray. He pulled it off effortlessly." He smiled as he helped himself to some salad.

They carried on talking, occasionally helping themselves to some more food. This time the conversation drifted towards the city and all the development going on. The conversation came to an end, as Horatio poured the remaining contents of their second bottle of rosé into their glasses, and a comfortable silence ensued with secret glances being passed while each tried to summon the courage to break the silence and talk about the one thing they hadn't talked about - them.

"Shall I open another bottle Yelina?" Horatioasked somewhat intensely.

"That would be nice, if you don't mind that is." Yelina replied somewhat casually.

"No, of course not, you're just giving me a reason to buy some more, even though a case seems adequate." Horatio got up and moved back into the kitchen. Yelina rose and started clearing the table but set their glasses aside. She indulged herself by running her fingertip around the rim of Horatio's glass and then pressing her finger to her lips letting out a soft moan, savouring the moment through closed eyes. The popping of a cork dragged her mind back to reality.

"Thanks, just leave it on the side, I'll load the dishwasher." Horatio says as he walks out to get the rest of the dishes. While Horatio attends to the dishwasher, Yelina picks up her glass and wanders into his living room. She places a cushion on the rug near his entertainment centre and sits on it as she looks at his collection of records and CD's.

"Yelina… where'd your glass…" Horatio asks as he wanders in with the wine, "Ah, it's with you." He finished as he took note of where she was.

"Horatio I see you've managed to get the full set of Beethoven's works and you've really expanded your collection of Vivaldi, and oh wow! When did you get the Julio Iglesias, live in concert, CD?"

"Yeah well, the first two I managed to get on E-bay, and the Julio Iglesias, I saw when I went down to the old record store. I realised I only had his Spanish music so thought I'd hear some of his English tunes." He didn't add that he bought the Julio Iglesias CD because he knew she loved his voice and that most of the songs on the CD reminded him of her. "Feel free to put on anything you want, I'll just go check on Ray Jr. and my study, it's suddenly gone very quiet in there." He crouched down and filled her glass as she continued to intently peruse his collection, refusing to meet his eyes.

Horatio walked away to investigate the silence and Yelina sips her wine running her fingers along the CDs. It didn't take long for her to decide – it had to be Julio Iglesias, she loved his vocals. As the opening melody of 'V_incent'_ projected through the sound system, Yelina got up quickly wanting to check on Ray Jr., she lost her footing slightly and grabbed the CD tower to steady herself.

Horatio walked into his study to find Ray Jr. sitting in his chair, which seemed to swallow the boy up, with his head on desk breathing gently and fast asleep with his action figures around him on the desk. He picked up Ray Jr., trying as little as possible to disturb the boy and carried him upstairs, laying him gently on the bed. Horatio picked up a blanket and placed it gently on the sleeping child. He was just about to leave when he heard the small crash from downstairs. He glanced quickly at the sleeping figure to reassure himself that all was well before running downstairs.

Horatio entered the sitting room to find a sheepish Yelina rearranging his music.

"Are you ok? What happened?" Horatio asked quickly crossing the room to help her.

"I'm so sorry," she apologised quickly, "Don't think I did any lasting damage to your tower…I…I was coming to check on Ray Jr. because it did sound a bit too quiet and… well I lost my footing and brought the CDs down with me. I'm fine." Said Yelina as she put in the last CD and with Horatio's help raised the tower to its original upright position. "Where's Ray?"

"He was fast asleep in my chair so I took him upstairs." Horatio turned to look at her, she was slightly flushed, eyes filled with concern about Ray Jr.

"I hope I didn't wake him up." The air had gone still between them and those butterflies were reawakening with the knowledge that it was just them now. "Maybe I should go check on him, just in case."

"No I don't think you did. Yelina he's fine. Are sure you're ok?"

"Uh huh, I'm fine, look no damage done other than to my ego." She held her hands up to show him she was all right.

"Well actually you're not." Said Horatio as he took her left arm

"Huh?"

"You've gashed your arm. Hang on; I'll get the first aid kit"

"Oh right, I didn't even feel that." Said Yelina looking at her arm to see a small rivulet of blood running from the gash. She sat down on the floor again waiting for Horatio to come back when the song "_Feelings"_ started to play. How apt she thought. She closed her eyes listening to the opening lines,

"_Feelings, nothing more than feelings,_

_Trying to forget my feelings of love..."_

Horatio came back and sat down next to her. She opened her eyes as he gently took her arm in his lap and began cleaning her wound gently with antiseptic. She winced slightly from the sting as the song continued in the background.

"_Teardrops rolling down my face,_

_Trying to forget my feelings of love…"_

After cleaning the blood away Horatio examined the wound to see if it was deep enough to warrant stitches. Deciding that it was quite shallow and that a plaster should suffice, he gently applied some antiseptic cream before putting the plaster on.

It was only then that he took on board the song that was currently playing.

"_Feelings… _

_Feelings like I've never had you,_

_And feelings like I'll never hold you again in my arms..."_

He glanced at Yelina whose arm was still resting in his hands and was surprised to see a tear forming at the corner of her eye. He wanted desperately to reach over and take her in his arms and comfort her but he held out. He was even more surprised when he heard her speak.

"Horatio, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She whispered as she turned to face him blinking back her tears and staring him straight in the eyes. "I shouldn't have come today…we've put you through so much…"

"Yelina what are you talking about, you have nothing to be sorry about. I enjoyed today."

"Horatio, I've been such a fool. I owe you an explanation for the past couple of months." She rolled her eyes up, "Oh I've been such a fool!"

"Yelina," he said softly as he gently disentangled his hands from her arm, "You don't owe me anything. I'm family remember?"

"No Horatio I do." She steeled herself for her confession by keeping eye contact with him as she reached up for his face, gently tracing the lines on his face.

Horatio closed his eyes, unable to breathe as he felt her touch. His walls were coming up, he opened his eyes as he gently covered her hands with his and brought them down from his face, maintaining the silence while waiting for her to continue.

"Dating Rick was a mistake, it was a foolish response to thinking Madison was your daughter and…And I know that you know that I've been trying to avoid you but pushing you away seems to make me miss your presence all the more. I want there to be an 'us' that goes past the barriers we've erected around ourselves over the years after everything that's happened. "

Horatio spoke up softly, "You did hurt me Yelina, but I understood….understand your reasons." His heart was full of battling emotions. They were so close to the brink

"I'm sorry I hurt you." She gently kissed his hand, "I love you Horatio. You don't know the turmoil I've been in. Tell me I'm not to late, tell me I haven't lost you forever. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Yelina, there's nothing to forgive. I'd wait forever for you. I do want more. I do want an 'us', I miss being with you and Ray Junior so much. I'm sorry for hurting you with Madison but I didn't know how else to protect you."

Yelina's eyes and heart filled with hope as she heard him say the words. Horatio wondered how she could not know that his heart had always belonged to her from the moment he had met her. "Didn't you know Yelina, I gave you my heart the first time I met you and you'll always have my heart." He pulled her to him and whispered into her ear a bit flirtatiously, "Shall we 'uncomplicate' things?"

She felt so good in his arms, like she really belonged there. She listened to his pounding heart and pulled him closer wanting to fill her senses with him entirely and be utterly lost in Horatio Caine. They both held on hard to each other savouring the moment. They had both found each other.

"I love you Horatio Caine." She whispered as he tilted her chin up so he could look into her eyes.

"And I love you." He whispered back.

Her arms curled around his neck as she played with his hair, Horatio lost his hands in her curly locks as they pulled closer to each other. They both became completely mesmerised in each other as they closed the final inches between their thirsting lips that had been seeking out love for so long.

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